Thank you Philippe. Dear Ministers, distinguished guests, ladies and gentlemen,I am very pleased to be here in Tunis for this extremely welcomed conference which signals the international community’s support... Show More + for Tunisia. It is critical that Tunisia succeeds, and transitioning from hope to reality is key. Tunisia is a beacon of hope for the Arab region. As Tunisia resolutely engages on a sustainable and stable path, it shows the world that democracy can be successful.Start-Up democracy, this expression coined by the Tunisian Prime Minister Mehdi Jomaa says it all. Earlier this year, Tunisia has adopted a new, inclusive constitution that protects basic freedoms. Consensus and compromise were chosen over conflict. Today, it is our collective responsibility to help Tunisia on the path of sustainable and inclusive economic growth.WBG support. Since 2011, the WBG has committed more than $1.7 billion. This calendar year alone we made available an envelope of $1.2 billion and we intend to add Show Less -

Your excellency, members of Parliament, faculty, students, friends,I would like to thank you for your gracious invitation and for bringing me together with the future, and by that I mean the aspiring students... Show More + from different universities in the audience. It is you who are called upon today to take your country forward.I’m here with what I hope will be a message of measured hope and optimism, to share a vision for a path forward, to a just and sustainable future in the Middle East and North Africa.I know that it is extraordinarily difficult to feel optimism in the shadow of the catastrophe unfolding in Syria. The scale is larger than anything you may have seen in your lives so far. It is larger than anything most of us have witnessed. Millions are refugees in their own land. Millions have sought refuge in neighboring countries: Turkey, Jordan, Iraq, Egypt, and most of all Lebanon.But let me take you back to 70 years ago, to 1944, while the guns were still firing during World War II.It wa Show Less -

MR. DONNELLY: Hi, everyone. Good morning.Thank you for coming.My name is John Donnelly. I am Communications Advisor to World Bank Group President Jim Yong Kim.As you know, this will be... Show More + an on-the-record briefing. We'll start with Dr. Kim's statement, and then we'll take questions from you.Thank you.DR. KIM: Good morning, everybody. Can you hear?I'd like to welcome you to the 2014 Spring Meetings of the World Bank Group and the International Monetary Fund. We are very happy to have all of you here.We live in a time of great contrasts, when fewer than 100 people control as much of the world's wealth as the poorest 3.5 billion combined. But we also live in a time when many developing countries have the strongest growth rates in the world, which each year helps millions of people lift themselves out of extreme poverty.Our economists estimate that roughly one billion people around the world live in extreme poverty today in 2014. This is d Show Less -

RICHARD MILLS: Very good. Thank you all for coming to the closing press conference for these meetings. Each of our participants will give a short statement and then we will be happy to... Show More + take your questions. If you could please identify yourself when asking a question and your news organization, that would be great. Chairman Belka.MR. BELKA: Thank you. Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to this press conference on today's Development Committee meeting. I am pleased to be joined by Jim Yong Kim and Christine Lagarde.As President of the World Bank Group, Jim has brought renewed enthusiasm for its core mission, a world free of poverty, and I mean it, "enthusiasm." The way Development Committee reacted to the two main objectives set out by President Kim cannot be described otherwise but a resounding, unequivocal support. Today, the Development Committee endorsed the two goals that will guide the World Bank Group to achieve its mission.First, we believe we have a Show Less -

Speaking along side Tunisia's Prime Minister H.E. Hamadi Jebali: DR. KIM: Thank you very much, Your Excellency.It's a tremendous honor and an inspiration for me to be here in Tunisia. ... Show More + Two years ago, I, along with the rest of the world, were watching as you quite literally changed world history. I was the President of a university in the United States and I remember just how inspired we all were, especially my students, in watching what you've accomplished here.Now, as we come, we are very proud of the work we've been doing with His Excellency, with the President, with the cabinet, with all the people of Tunisia in taking the first steps toward building the kind of society that you fought so dearly to achieve.We are here as strong supporters of the Tunisian revolution and we want all of you to know that, despite the fact that there will be some pain going forward, we at the World Bank are bringing evidence and experience so that you can get through this next Show Less -

DR. KIM: Thank you, all, so much for coming and welcome to the World Bank.As always, I have some very nice prepared remarks, and so I will give them out of respect for the people who prepared them,... Show More + but I'm also going to talk a little bit about from personal experiences. Hundreds of millions of children and adults in Africa live at risk of disfigurement, impaired development, blindness, and even death from seven major preventable, neglected--so called neglected tropical diseases, includes river blindness, elephantiasis, trachoma, and various types of [? 00:37] [unclear] parasites. It's not that these diseases really have been neglected. It's the people who suffer from them who have been neglected. Protecting poor people from preventable diseases and from acute suffering remains a part of our mission to end poverty and [unclear] Show Less -

In honor of our Japanese hosts, I would like to start my remarks by making some comments in Japanese.Mina-sama Kon-Nichiwa. Okagesama-de, Sekai Ginkou-noSousai Toshite Hajimete-no Soukai-deSendai-nimo... Show More + Iki, Mina-sama-noYasashisa-to Tsuyosa-ni Fure,Subarashii Kizuna-wo Tsukuru Koto-gaDeki-mashita.Arigato Gozai-mashita. [Hello everybody. Thanks to your help, I could complete my first Annual Meetings and visit Sendai as the President of the World Bank. I was touched by your kindness and resilience. I am glad that we could build a wonderful Kizuna. Thank you very much.]I don’t know if there was translation, but if not, too bad.I want to first of all just thank you.I want to thank the Japanese people and the government of Japan for just a truly outstanding meeting. The Japanese government I think demonstrated to all of us the character of the Japanese people by responding to the great tragedy of March 11, 2011 by insisting that these meetings focus on ensuring that all countries – Show Less -

MR. MILLS: Good evening, everyone. Thank you for joining us for the Development Committee Closing Press Conference. Thank you all for coming. ... Show More + Each of our participants and speakers today will make an opening statement. Then we will be happy to take your questions. I would just like to remind everyone to identify yourself and your organization when you ask a question, and if you could make sure that your cell phones and pagers are turned off. The topic of today’s press conference will be on the Development Committee and development issues. Thank you. Chairman Belka? MR. BELKA: Thank you. Good evening, ladies and gentlemen. Show Less -

MR. MILLS: Good morning, everyone. Thank you for joining us for our press conference with World Bank Group President Jim Yong Kim.President Kim will deliver some opening remarks, and then we will... Show More + be very happy to take your questions. I am sure you have been warned before, but if everyone could just turn off their cell phones and put their beepers on “vibrate,” that would be great; and when you ask your question if you could please identify yourself and your news organization. President Kim.DR. KIM: Thank you for coming. I know many of you attended Annual Meetings before. This is my first, and I am looking forward to meeting with Governors and our stakeholders.First, let me thank the Government and people of Japan. The planning and work done and the hospitality extended to us has been just wonderful.I think it is especially meaningful, because this year marks the 60th anniversary of the strong relationship that the Bank and Japan have enjoyed over the years.Japan Show Less -

Thank you for coming. I know many of you have attended Annual Meetings before. This is my first, and I'm looking forward to meeting with Governors and our stakeholders.First, let me thank the government... Show More + and people of Japan. The planning and work done and the hospitality extended to us has been just wonderful.I think it’s especially meaningful because this year marks the 60th anniversary of the strong relationship the Bank and Japan has enjoyed over the years.Japan started out as our client in the 1950s and 1960s, borrowing a total of $863 million for 31 projects, including signature projects such as the bullet train, Kuroyon-Dam and the Tomei Expressway. Japan now is our second largest shareholder and the third largest donor to the International Development Association – the Bank’s fund for the poorest. It is truly a success story and a remarkable show of generosity.But it doesn’t end there. Japan has shared its knowledge and experience with the rest of the world as it evolved from a d Show Less -

MS. TUCK: Hello. This is the Washington Press Briefing on the World Development Report. I am on the line live at a press briefing. Can people hear me? ... Show More + [Responses in affirmative.] MS. TUCK: I would ask media colleagues who are on the line to please "mute" your devices because we are about to begin this briefing. It is starting a little late. We have had some technological snafus, but we are going to get this briefing started. This is Merrell Tuck. I am the Senior Communications Officer, Development Economics. This is an embargoed briefing for the World Development Report 2013 on Jobs, and this Report is embargoed until 7 p.m. tonight Eastern Daylight Time, which is 11 p.m. GMT Show Less -

“Ending AIDS and Poverty”Your Excellencies and honored guests, ladies and gentlemen, colleagues and friends,As we look back on the history of this epidemic, it is hard to say that there is any one... Show More + moment when the tide began to turn. Because the truth is that we have been turning back the tide of AIDS, step by painful step, for 30 years.And at nearly every turn, it is the activists, and their communities, that have led the way.It was activists and communities who devised safer sex, promoted condom use, needle exchange and virtually all the behavioral prevention we use today.It was activists who transformed drug development and regulatory processes, and involved patients in clinical research, cutting drug approval times in half in the global north.It was activists in Durban in 2000 who began to push for access to antiretrovirals in the developing world and who kept pushing and are pushing still for them to be affordable and available to everyone who needs them, everywhere.And it wa Show Less -

Global Development at a Pivotal Time: A Conversation with World Bank President Dr. Jim Yong KimMR. TALBOTT: My name is Strobe Talbott and it is my great pleasure to welcome you here to Brookings... Show More + this afternoon for a conversation with the new President of the World Bank Group.Whenever we have a distinguished visitor here to Brookings, in particular--and particularly if it's somebody who is coming here for the first time, we're always careful to check with his protocol people on exactly how the distinguished visitor wants to be addressed, whether we use "Doctor" or "Honorable," whatever, and the word came back "Jim."[Laughter.]MR. TALBOTT: So, welcome, Jim. It's really great to have you here. A couple of your successors, your most immediate successors, were frequent visitors here, particularly Bob Zoellick as recently as just a couple of weeks ago as he offered some reflections on his way out of the office that you now occupy.And Bob's pred Show Less -

MR. MILLS: Good afternoon, everyone. Thanks for joining us for this roundtable. My name is Richard Mills. I know many of you; welcome. I... Show More + want to set up a couple ground rules to begin with. First of all, we're going to have this session embargoed until the end of the session, so that should keep all the--maybe some of the hurried typing down to a minimum. The other thing I would just ask is that you--when we call on you, just repeat, for the record of the transcript, your name and organization, and then we can go into questions. I handed out a statement and I will turn it over to President Kim. President Kim?MR. KIM: Well, th Show Less -

DR. KIM: Good morning, everyone.I'm honored today to assume the presidency of the World Bank Group. I do so at a pivotal moment for the global economy.I want to start by thanking my predecessor, Robert... Show More + Zoellick. Bob has done a fantastic job over the last five years, and he has left me with a very strong institution.I spent most of my adult life working in some of the poorest communities in the world. And in my work, what I've learned is that the World Bank is the most important development institution in the world. I'm both humbled and inspired to take over today as President.You know, over the last few months, I've had the privilege of talking with many, many World Bank employees, and what I've found is that not only is it the most important global development institution in the world, but it's a movement. People here in Washington, and in more than a hundred country offices all over the world, are passionate about the twin aims of boosting prosperity and eradicating poverty. I'm very Show Less -

Working with others we've launched an Open Data for Resilience Initiative, a global effort working in 25 countries. An example is haitidata.org, which makes risk assessment data produced following... Show More + the 2010 Haiti earthquake available for anyone to download and use.Similarly, Open Data for the Horn of Africa now facilitates open access to geospatial information, data and knowledge sources about the ongoing response to the drought in the Horn of Africa.My point is simple: Farmers, fisher folk, and others around the world are using data and technology everyday to deal with increasing uncertainty brought on by climate change. In Nepal they are using PDAs – computers that fit into the palm of your hand - to collect data regarding changes in food security situations. In Chile, farmers can use low-cost mobiles to receive SMS messages about weather forecasts, market prices and even the latest cultivation practices.In India, fisher folk can use mobile phones to receive messages about weath Show Less -

Introduction Thank you for the honor of your invitation to commemorate the 30th Anniversary of the Inter-American Dialogue. The origins of this Dialogue stretch back to a discussion between Peter... Show More + Bell and Abe Lowenthal on a park bench. Peter and Abe were disturbed by the breakdown in inter-American exchanges during the Falklands/Malvinas war, and by the lack of ties with the rising democrats of Latin America. So they discussed bringing together leaders from across the hemisphere to set a new inter-American agenda. The Dialogue held its first ad hoc conference in late 1982. Today, 30 years later, Latin America’s very success offers the opportunity to remake that Hemispheric partnership around new pillars:A revived free trade policy that will aid structural reforms for growth in all our countries;An energy transformation, ending the Hemisphere’s energy dependency; A new diplomacy infused with private sector pragmatism to solve public problems;Shared Show Less -

IntroductionIt’s a great pleasure to join you today for IFC’s 14th Annual Global Private Equity Conference in association with the Emerging Markets Private Equity Association, or EMPEA. The story... Show More + of this conference is emblematic of how the world economy has changed: Fourteen years ago, a small group met in the basement of IFC to discuss the prospect of private equity in developing countries. Today, there are more than 800 people here, from nearly 60 countries: institutional investors; public and pension funds; private investors; endowments and family offices; senior investment professionals; chief investment officers, and directors from leading fund managers around the world, as well as representatives from development institutions and government agencies. Plenary sessions and roundtable discussions cover a range of issues over three days – the global economic outlook and regulatory trends, of course – but also non-financial risks, infrastructure, SMEs, mezzanine Show Less -

MR. MILLS: Well, thank you very much for joining us for this closing press conference. Our participants will each make an opening statement and then we'll take... Show More + your questions. If I can ask everyone to please turn off your mobile devices or put them to vibrate, we would appreciate it. Chairman Belka. MR. BELKA: Thank you. As we are late, I am not going to be very descriptive about the meeting of the Development Committee. You know the agenda. The discussion was very rich, centering around the social safety nets, the private sector involvement in growth initiatives, as well we discussed modernization of the World Bank. However, one thing that is obvious, it took so long because all the delegates took the opportunity of this Development Committee meeting to express gratitude and adm Show Less -

MR. MILLS: Good morning, everyone. Thank you for joining us for our World Bank Group press conference for the 2012 Spring Meetings. Joining me this morning is the President of the World Bank... Show More + Group, Robert Zoellick, who will have an opening statement and then take some of your questions. If I could please ask everyone when they ask a question to identify themselves and your organization; and once again, I am sure you have been asked, but if we could have our mobile devices switched off or to "vibrate." So, President Zoellick. MR. ZOELLICK: Thank you, Rich. Welcome, and thanks to all of you for coming. This marks my last Spring Meetings as the President of the World Bank Group, so I would like to begin with a few words of thanks to the Ministers who have supported us and worked with us; to our Executive Board, who have labored hard to help our Management team to modernize the important multilateral institution; to the excellent Senior Manageme Show Less -